ADHD WA further unpacks and responds to the Australian Government’s mediocre responses to the Senate Inquiry into ADHD.
Read our full Media Release following the Government’s Response in December 2024:
ADHD WA Further Responds:
THEME: DEVELOPING A NATIONAL APPROACH
Recommendation 1
The committee recommends the Australian Government considers funding and co-designing a National Framework for ADHD, together with people with ADHD as well as ADHD advocacy and community organisations.
Government response – Supported in-principle
ADHD WA response –
- The Federal Govt provided funding of $1.5 million to AADPA for the development of ADHD Guidelines. These were completed in October 2022, were endorsed by the NHRMC, and have been acknowledged as some of the best guidelines internationally. Why would the government not provide the necessary support for these guidelines to be implemented nationally?
- What actions, if any, are planned?
- What is the Government’s timeline for further evaluation and implementation?
Recommendation 2
The committee recommends the Australian Government consult with people with lived experience of ADHD, healthcare colleges and organisations to identify additional supports to improve access to ADHD healthcare and support. This should encompass reviewing bulk billing incentives to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for diagnosis and ongoing support, shared care models, telehealth, and improving access in rural, regional and remote areas.
Government response – Supported in-principle
ADHD WA response –
- The government’s response includes information about 61 Medicare Mental Health Centres around the nation by 30 June 2026. However, these will do little to improve treatment for ADHD as the public sector does not, as a rule treat ADHD in adults, and CAMHS refuses to treat children with ADHD. 85.6% of ADHD WA members surveyed at the time of the senate inquiry were not adequately accessing supports after a diagnosis of ADHD.
- What actions, if any, are planned?
- What is the Government’s timeline for further evaluation and implementation?
THEME: MAKING SERVICES AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE
Recommendation 3
The committee recommends the Australian Government review the Medicare Benefits Schedule with a view to improving the accessibility of assessment, diagnosis and support services for people with ADHD.
Government response – Supported in-principle
ADHD WA response –
- ADHD WA believes that failure to review Medicare items for assessments is a missed opportunity and would help lower socioeconomic, regional and remote people to access diagnosis and treatment.
- What actions, if any, are planned?
- What is the Government’s timeline for further evaluation and implementation?
Recommendation 4
The committee recommends the Australian Government review the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to improve the safe and quality use of medications by people with ADHD. This review should give consideration to the requirements for a diagnosis to access some medications, age restrictions, dosage restrictions and the scope of practice for clinicians prescribing medications.
Government response – Supported in-principle
ADHD WA response –
- 9% of ADHD WA Members surveyed at the time of the senate inquiry judged access to medications to be inadequate with 47.5% judging the cost of medication to be unaffordable. We would like to see steps taken to make access to medication more equitable across age groups and geographical areas.
- What actions, if any, are planned?
- What is the Government’s timeline for further evaluation and implementation?
Recommendation 5
The committee recommends that the Commonwealth expedite the development of uniform prescribing rules to ensure consistency between state and territory jurisdictions, through the Ministerial Council on Health.
Government response – Supported
ADHD WA response –
- ADHD WA welcomes the development of uniform prescribing rules across states and territories, in particular the role of GPs in ongoing treatment
- What actions, if any, are planned?
- What is the Government’s timeline for further evaluation and implementation?
THEME: IMPROVING ADHD INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
Recommendation 6
The committee recommends the Australian Government, in collaboration with people with ADHD and ADHD advocacy and community organisations, develop a dedicated government ADHD information portal.
Government response – Supported in-principle
ADHD WA response –
- ADHD WA is extremely disappointed to hear that the government regards the development of an information portal too onerous as it would “require collaboration across sectors, jurisdictions and governments”. We are also alarmed that the government quotes the Disability Standards for Education (2005) as a resource when ADHD is not recognised as a disability by Curriculum Authorities. We maintain that this information portal should be actioned as a priority
- What actions, if any, are planned?
- What is the Government’s timeline for further evaluation and implementation?
Recommendation 7
The committee recommends the Australian Government implement, through the Department of Health and Aged Care, a neurodiversity-affirming public health campaign to shift social attitudes and stigma associated with ADHD and to improve public awareness and promote education.
Government response – Supported in-principle
ADHD WA response –
- ADHD remains one of the most stigmatised conditions. In the words of a member: “It is one of the most misunderstood and unrecognised diagnoses of all.” A public health campaign to inform society and shift attitudes about ADHD would go a long towards addressing this stigma.
- What actions, if any, are planned?
- What is the Government’s timeline for further evaluation and implementation?
Recommendation 8
The committee recommends the National Disability Insurance Agency improve the accessibility and quality of information around the eligibility of ADHD as a condition under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Government response – Noted
ADHD WA response – In the past 12 months it has become significantly harder to access any support for ADHD under the NDIS. Services have been removed from some existing plans that had been covering ADHD in previous years. How does the government justify this and when will the support for ADHD be improved?
- What actions, if any, are planned?
- What is the Government’s timeline for further evaluation and implementation?
Recommendation 9
The committee recommends that the Department of Social Services provide ongoing funding for disability advocacy organisations, including ADHD advocacy organisations, to support people with ADHD.
Government response – Noted
ADHD WA response – ADHD WA has existed for 30 years without government funding. In this time we have provided valuable services that should be the government’s responsibility. Funding for ADHD WA would enable us to make our services even more affordable for our members
- What actions, if any, are planned to support advocacy organisations like ADHD WA?
- What is the Government’s timeline for further evaluation and implementation?
Recommendation 10
The committee recommends the Australian Government works to improve training on recognising and meeting the needs of ADHD people in a variety of settings, such as in education, institutional settings and the workplace, including considering setting minimum standards for neurodiversity training.
Government response – Supported in-principle
ADHD WA response –
- Our submission to the senate inquiry highlights the lack of training in the field of ADHD for doctors, teachers and allied health professionals. This has contributed to missed diagnoses in childhood and inappropriate medical advice.
- What actions, if any, are planned?
- What is the Government’s timeline for further evaluation and implementation?
Recommendation 11
The committee recommends that the Australian Government work towards improving specialised health services in institutionalised settings, including for people with ADHD.
Government response – Noted
ADHD WA response – The Australian Government pays lip service to the provision of adjustments for people with ADHD going through the criminal justice system. Psychiatric services in the prison system are woefully inadequate.
THEME: IMPROVE THE CAPACITY AND CAPABILITY OF HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
Recommendation 12
The committee recommends the Australian Government, through the current ‘Scope of practice review’ and in collaboration with healthcare colleges, develop pathways which could include an expansion of the range of healthcare professionals who are able to provide ADHD assessment and
support services, particularly General Practitioners and Nurse Practitioners, and improve the skills of all healthcare professionals who interact with people with ADHD.
Government response – Supported in-principle
ADHD WA response –
- 5% of our members surveyed for the senate inquiry submission stated that access to an ADHD diagnosis is inadequate. 91.3% found access to psychiatrists to be inadequate and 82.2% found access to pediatricians to be inadequate. Effective assessment and treatment models which include expanded roles for GPs and Nurse Practitioners exist in other countries and parts of Australia.
- What actions, if any, are planned?
- What is the Government’s timeline for further evaluation and implementation?
Recommendation 13
The committee recommends all levels of government consider investing in the implementation of the Australian ADHD Professionals Association’s Australian evidence-based clinical practice guideline for ADHD, along with funding to promote the guideline to healthcare professionals and healthcare policy-makers.
Government response – Noted
ADHD WA response –
- The Federal Govt provided funding to AADPA for the development of ADHD Guidelines. These were completed in October 2022, were endorsed by the NHRMC, and have been acknowledged as some of the best guidelines internationally. Why would the government not provide the necessary support for these guidelines to be implemented nationally?
- What actions, if any, are planned?
- What is the Government’s timeline for further evaluation and implementation?
THEME: BETTER FUNDING FOR ADHD DISABILITY AND ADVOCACY ORGANISATIONS
Recommendation 14
The committee recommends that the Australian Government consider investing in ADHD lived experience non-profit support, disability and advocacy organisations. Such funding would enable these organisations to provide community-based and targeted services to people with ADHD, such as an advice and support helplines, legal aid, financial counselling and assistance in finding assessment, treatment and support pathways.
Government response – Noted
ADHD WA response – ADHD WA has been providing services to the community for 30 years without government funding. It is unthinkable that the government continues to ignore the work we do and refuses to support the ADHD community by supporting us.
THEME: MORE RESEARCH INTO ADHD AND ITS IMPACTS
Recommendation 15
The committee recommends the Australian Government support further research, through the Australian Government’s Medical Research Endowment Account (administered by the National Health and Medical Research Council) and the Medical Research Future Fund (administered by
the Department of Health and Aged Care), to better understand ADHD, and ways to address stigma. The committee suggests that further research is needed into:
- support available to people with ADHD, including evidence-informed clinical care and peer support;
- addressing the stigma that people with ADHD experience including in healthcare, education and the community;
- non-hyperactive presentations of ADHD and gender bias;
- ADHD in First Nations, culturally and linguistically diverse and LGBTQIA+ communities; and
- ADHD co-occurrence with other forms of neurodivergence.
Government response – Supported in-principle
ADHD WA response –
- The Research priorities stated are essential and should be pursued immediately, not supported in principle. We call on the government to make research funds available.
- What actions, if any, are planned?
- What is the Government’s timeline for further evaluation and implementation?
